Last chance for tune-up for Central Catholic

Wednesday

Crusaders focusing on opportunity to improve in final scrimmage against Canton South.

PERRY TWP. Thursday will mark the one-week point until the start of Central Catholic's regular season. Crusader coach Jeff Lindesmith, though, doesn't want his team to get too far ahead of itself.

Before Central Catholic can worry about next Thursday's opener against neighboring Perry, it has some leftover business to tend to in the preseason. That, specifically, is a final scrimmage against Canton South Thursday evening at 7 p.m.

Lindesmith is well aware what looms both one week - and, literally, one mile - away. Still, he believes it's about taking things one week at a time, even if that one week is still part of the preseason.

While the Crusaders have been able to start getting into a game-week routine this week, it's still not quite Perry week for them, either.

"I just think with the routine of the week, it's similar," Lindesmith said Wednesday. "We started school, which makes it nice this week just because of the different routines the kids have been through. We try to keep our practices very similar to what we'll do next week. That will help in that case. But when it comes to next week and preparing for the wing-T, that's a completely different creature that we'll probably attack when we get there."

Right now, all that Lindesmith wants his team to do is to attack the scrimmage against South with the same fervor he believes they have attacked most of the preseason. As part of that, he's looking to see that approach pay off in another solid test before it starts to count.

Central Catholic was one of the last teams in the area to be able to scrimmage another opponent, as it didn't have its first one until last Saturday against Hillsdale. Now, the important thing is to use the short turnaround time to grow from that exposure against someone else.

"We want to see improvement from our first scrimmage," Lindesmith said. "I think that's important. We did some good things, did some poor things which we've had some time to work on. We want to see the mistakes that we made, whether it be fundamentally or assignment-wise, corrected. That will be a big things."

Lindesmith admitted what he saw in the first scrimmage was about what he expected to see. That's not in any way meant as a lukewarm take on the performance as much as it's the acknowledgment of the realities which come with the initial scrimmage.

The offensive and defensive lines, two areas where Lindesmith was really focused on seeing what they could do, took a series or two to really get up to the speed of the live action. However, that was expected considering the relative lack of reps which the group had been able to achieve during camp due to the numbers on the roster.

"We can't practice against 275-pounders," Lindesmith said. "We don't have them. That's where you have to adjust."

Meanwhile, Lindesmith saved some of his best praise from the first scrimmage for some of his most veteran players. While the skill positions on both sides of the ball and linebackers on defense were position groups which drew positive marks, it was individuals such as receiver/defensive back Vinny DiRuzza, quarterback/defensive back Austin Beck, running back/linebacker Chase Miller and offensive linemen Brock Janowicz and Nate Fox which were singled out individually.

Not surprisingly, those are some of the Crusaders' most experienced players on the roster. They have also been among the players who have drawn plaudits throughout the preseason.

"We kind of expected those guys to provide some physicality," Lindesmith said. "Logan Walton was another guy who we liked some of the things he did offensively, as well at the linebacker spot. ... Those guys knew a little bit of what was going on."

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

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